More CIOs report directly to the CEO than ever before, claims recruiter Harvey Nash

CIOs who report directly to the CEO are supposedly the happiest too

More CIOs report directly to a CEO than ever before, indicating that companies are increasingly acknowledging the central importance of IT and technology to their organisation.

More than one-third (34 per cent) of CIOs surveyed by Harvey Nash and KPMG now have the CEO as their boss, rising 10 per cent over the past year alone. That's more than any time in the past decade. Meanwhile, fewer CIOs are now reporting to the CFO (down 20 per cent on previous years).

CIOs directly reporting to the CEO are also, supposedly, the happiest (87 per cent report job fulfilment, according to the report).

"This closer working relationship between the CEO and CIO is probably a contributor to the growing strategic influence and participation in senior decision-making that the CIO is reporting, as well as a widening portfolio of responsibility both within the core IT organisation and beyond," the report states.

According to its findings, reporting to the CEO can enhance the CIO's ability to develop ‘very strong' relationships for the technology function with other business functions, particularly with marketing, where it is 25 per cent better.

Sales rapport is also better with the influence of the CEO reporting line. However, relationships that don't, apparently, improve with the IT leader reporting to the CEO include finance and legal compliance.

The proportion of CIOs now occupying a seat at the executive board or senior leadership committee is also up significantly this year and is at its highest level in 11 years of tracking. Now, almost six-in-10 IT leaders (57 per cent) are a member of the senior executive management team, compared to 51 per cent just last year.

Meanwhile, Harvey Nash found that the CEO continues to be more interested in IT projects that make money, rather than save money. Almost two-thirds (63 per cent) indicate this as a priority, compared to approximately one-third (37 per cent) who report that the CEO is more interested in IT predominantly being used as a cost-saving tool. These findings are very similar to each of the past four years.

"While the CIO is undoubtedly spending more time driving externally facing (and often revenue-generating) projects, it is also clear that much of the role is still rooted in cost management," the report states.